Sirin casually drew the Edict Edge, slicing open a circular spatial rift. The countless blades stored within poured out the moment the exit appeared.
The clanging of colliding weapons echoed endlessly.
When the spatial rift finally closed, a small mountain of swords had already formed before her.
"Looks like quite a lot, but most of them are low-grade cursed blades—not worth much."
"…That's way too many!"
Kiana never imagined Sirin would present her with such a massive gift.
After receiving Yae Sakura's gift, she had thought Sirin would give her something similar—another cursed blade or two.
But on second thought, it made sense.
It was only the fourth day—how could Sirin possibly find a single cursed blade worth five hundred thousand Honkai Cubes for her?
"Cough, I'm just clearing out my storage," Sirin said with a hint of embarrassment before adding, "Can't you sacrifice them all at once?"
"…Yes."
Using the recycling function, Kiana selected the mountain of blades before her, successfully marking every cursed sword at once.
Thankfully, she didn't have to select them one by one.
Otherwise, it would have taken forever.
"Are you sure you don't want to keep any?" Before confirming the sacrifice, Kiana turned to Sirin again. "I didn't check any of these cursed blades' stats. Once I sacrifice them, they'll be gone for good."
"Go ahead and sacrifice them."
These were all leftovers from her inventory. Most were the lowest-grade cursed blades, and the few better ones had been overused—too many Kami slain, too many curses piled on, no one could wield them anymore.
Their total worth, however…
[Various quality cursed blades (324) recycled. You have received 637,200 Honkai Cubes. Honkai Cubes can be used to purchase goods in the shop.]
How much?
Kiana froze at the final number, then turned toward Sirin in disbelief. "Did you make a mistake? That's almost one hundred and forty thousand more than expected."
"One hundred and forty thousand? Hmm… is that the post-sacrifice amount?" Sirin tilted her head thoughtfully. "I wasn't sure whether the Kami energy inside the blades would degrade over time, so I brought a few extras."
"…A few extras? That's way too much!"
"It's fine. The extra—"
"Stop!" Kiana immediately raised her hand. "I've already profited big-time from you. Let's count the extra as you buying gear from me."
Sirin shook her head, but Kiana didn't give her a chance to refuse. She grabbed her hand and pulled her inside, speaking as she went. "Come on, to my room. I'll grab some paper and write down the equipment you can buy. You can pick what you like."
She had been planning her next purchases carefully for a while. The selection couldn't be too wide—her budget was tight—so most items she planned to buy were one- or two-star gear, with only a few reaching four stars at most.
Like a gust of wind, Kiana dragged Sirin inside. Seeing them rush past, Mei's gaze followed their retreating figures until they disappeared from view.
Yae Sakura noticed and couldn't help but remark, "You care deeply about Kiana too."
What do you mean, too?
Mei frowned slightly, feeling oddly irritated. Her fondness for Yae Sakura dipped just a little. "She's the most important person to me. Of course I care about her. But Miss Yae, you've only met her once, haven't you?"
"I mean," Yae Sakura said gently, "that you care for her just as she cares for you. That's wonderful."
"…Why say that?"
Why was Yae Sakura so invested in this topic?
"Perhaps because…" Yae Sakura paused for a moment before admitting softly, "I envy you."
"Envy me?"
Mei couldn't understand. To her, life before meeting Kiana had been nothing but suffering.
"Yes," Yae Sakura said quietly. "Even when you had no strength left to stand, you still rose again and again—for your friend, for what was taken from her, to reconnect with your father. You faced death without fear, endured pain without hesitation, driven by the will to never give up."
Yae Sakura smiled faintly. "It was that spirit of yours that moved me. That's why I wanted to make a promise with her."
Mei: "…"
...
Back in her room, Kiana took out paper and pen, her eyes shining as she opened the shop menu and began her grand shopping spree with six hundred thirty-seven thousand Cubes.
—A knight never dies bare-handed!
Buy!
[A Knight Does Not Die with Empty Hands (★★☆☆)]
Special Effects:
– Unarmed Damage Amplification: Increases unarmed attack damage by 82x
– Amplification Boost: Increases the effectiveness of V-Type weapon damage amplification by 60%
—Savior's Emblem!
Buy!
[Savior's Emblem (★★★★☆)]
Special Effects:
– Honkai Unrivaled: Continuous attacks increase all damage dealt, up to 100%
– One Punch Woman: Increases unarmed damage by 600x, expands area of effect by 80%, and restores 100% of current weapon ammo
—Honkai Cubes: -110,000.
Kiana stared at the badge for a while, thought about it, then fully upgraded all its stars.
—Total Honkai Cubes spent: 230,000.
With Sirin's funding, she still had more than 400,000 left.
She even searched specifically for "Meeting You," but unfortunately, that emblem wasn't listed in the shop—revealing that not every item from the game existed here.
A small sigh of disappointment escaped her lips.
"These are all the things I can provide," Kiana said, handing Sirin the paper she'd filled out, her eyes gleaming with excitement and anticipation.
She felt overwhelmingly powerful now.
As for Sirin's gift, Kiana had already decided what to give her—but her eyes happened to catch sight of something amusing in the equipment section.
"Sirin, do you want to be a magical girl?"
Sirin, who had been reading the list with growing astonishment, froze when she heard those unbelievable words. She couldn't help but lift her gaze from the equipment sheet.
"…What?"
"A magical girl!" Kiana repeated, gesturing animatedly as she tried to explain. "You know, the kind who waves a staff and casts spells—like, real magic!"
"Ah?"
Sirin almost thought she'd misheard. She looked suspiciously at Kiana's eager face, but saw no trace of a joke—only pure excitement and expectation burning in her eyes.
For a moment, Sirin fell silent.
How to put it… her feelings were complicated. On one hand, being seen as a magical girl by Kiana felt oddly flattering. On the other hand, the idea of actually becoming one—
She shook her head vigorously. "I have the Edict Edge. You should keep that kind of thing for yourself."
She couldn't even imagine pulling out a magic wand and transforming in front of her comrades.
Just the thought made her want to die of embarrassment.
"Alright then," Kiana said with a grin.
She purchased the V-Type Knight's Insight, mainly for the single attribute that boosted melee weapon damage by 100%.
As Sirin had said, she already had the Edict Edge. Her combat system was well-established—the straightforward, brute-force approach suited her perfectly.